Various, different material dispensing and coating systems or apparatus, for simultaneously coating a plurality of elongated, parallel strands with suitable materials, such as, for example, hot melt adhesive materials, are known. Dispensing and coating systems or apparatus, of the aforenoted type, are disclosed, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,146 which issued on Sep. 2, 2003 to Bolyard, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,237 which issued on Feb. 18, 2003 to Bolyard, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,635 which issued on Mar. 13, 2001 to Kwok, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,375 which issued on Jun. 20, 2000 to Kwok. In addition to the aforenoted patents, a similar system or apparatus is disclosed within U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/623,294 which was filed on Jul. 18, 2003 in the name of M. Steve Lessley et al. More particularly, as disclosed within FIG. 1, which corresponds substantially to FIG. 2 of the aforenoted patent application, a strand coating system is generally indicated by the reference character 200, and it is seen that the strand coating system 200 comprises an adhesive dispensing device 210 which is fixedly mounted upon a module assembly 220. The module assembly 220 is, in turn, fixedly mounted upon a head 240, and a pair of strands 233, 235, to be coated with a suitable adhesive material discharged from a pair of nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, are conveyed from a suitable strand supply roll, not shown, over a strand guide member or roller 230, which is adjustably mounted upon a pair of adjustable arms 236, 238 and within which a pair of strand guide grooves 232, 234 are defined, and downwardly past the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210.
In order to ensure the fact that the strands 233, 235 are conveyed past the nozzles or orifices, defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, in a desired manner or mode wherein the strands 233, 235 will be properly coated with the adhesive material, a pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 are mounted upon a mounting plate 254 which, in turn, is fixedly mounted upon the module assembly 220. More particularly, the provision, presence, or disposition of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 ensures the fact that the strands 233, 235 will be moved past, or aligned with, the nozzles or orifices, defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, in a substantially coplanar manner or mode with respect to the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210 such that the adhesive material, dispensed or discharged from the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, will in fact be properly deposited or coated upon the strands 233, 235. More particularly, it can be readily appreciated still further that in order for the aforenoted adhesive material coating operation to be properly performed in connection with the strands 233, 235, the strands 233, 235 must be disposed upon or conveyed along the internal portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252, that is, the strands 233, 235 must be conveyed in a substantially tangential manner along those portions of the cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 which effectively face, or are disposed toward, each other. If the strands 233, 235 are disposed upon or conveyed along the external portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252, that is, those portions of the cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 which effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other, then the strands 233, 235 will not be properly aligned, in the aforenoted coplanar manner or mode, with respect to the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210.
It can be readily appreciated, however, that due to the circular symmetry defined by means of the cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252, the strands 233, 235 can in fact be easily or readily conveyed either in a tangential manner upon or along the internal portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 that effectively face, or are disposed, toward each other, or alternatively, the strands 233, 235 can likewise be easily or readily conveyed in a tangential manner along or upon the external portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 that effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other obviously, if the strands 233, 235 are erroneously or mistakenly routed so as to be tangentially conveyed along or upon the external portions of the pair of cylindrical, strand guide pins 250, 252 which effectively face, or are disposed, away from each other, the strands 233, 235 will not be properly aligned or disposed in the aforenoted coplanar manner or mode with respect to the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210. Accordingly, the adhesive material, dispensed or discharged from the nozzles or orifices defined within the adhesive dispensing device 210, will not in fact be properly deposited upon the strands 233, 235 in accordance with required or desired deposition techniques or patterns. This will be quite detrimental to the overall adhesive coating process because the system must obviously be shut down while the strand routing problem is effectively corrected. In addition, those elongated strands, already having the adhesive material deposited or coated thereon in a relatively defective manner, must be discarded as waste in view of the fact that such strands cannot be readily re-routed for reprocessing because any adhesive material already deposited thereon, albeit in an improper mode or pattern, would tend to foul the overall strand coating system 200.
A need therefore exists in the art for new and improved strand guide implements or mechanisms, for use in connection with material dispensing and coating nozzles, wherein the strand guide implements or mechanisms will serve to properly position and orient a plurality of elongated, parallel strands, which are being respectively transported or conveyed in front of a plurality of the material dispensing and coating nozzles, in such a manner that the plurality of elongated, parallel strands can assuredly be respectively aligned in a coplanar manner with respect to the plurality of material dispensing and coating nozzles, whereby the dispensed and discharged materials, such as, for example, hot melt adhesive materials, can be simultaneously dispensed and discharged from the plurality of material dispensing and coating nozzles, and properly applied to or coated upon the elongated, parallel strands prior to the adherence of the elongated strands upon suitable substrates, so as to ensure the desirably secured adherence of the plurality of elongated strands upon the particular substrates when the elongated strands and the substrates are mated together so as form the completed fabricated product.